Inexpensive touch fasteners, such as mechanical hook-loop fasteners, are finding wide use in a number of applications, including disposable garments and diapers. For some applications, a particularly cost-effective method of producing such fasteners is by what we call mold lamination—in which resin is applied to a carrier substrate and is simultaneously bonded or laminated directly to the substrate while an array of miniature projections are molded of the resin. An early example of mold lamination was taught by Kennedy et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,260,015. Later it was determined that the resin could be applied to the substrate in discrete lanes or islands, leaving at least one portion of the substrate surface exposed, rather than covering the entire surface. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,205,623 and 7,048,818. Because of the typical resin viscosities and projection sizes useful for many touch fastening applications, and line speeds required for cost-effective production, the required lamination/molding pressure is often quite high.
Leaving part of the substrate exposed, however, necessarily means forming an edge of the resin on the surface. In some cases the formed edges have been considered rough to the touch, or visually unappealing.
Improvements are sought in the formation of partially covered fastener laminates, and in the products produced thereby.